Treasured (Embracing Series Book 1) (20 page)

~Chapter

Twenty-Five~

Addie, what are you doing here? How did you get here? I thought you were gone? Why aren’t you answering me, Addison Ellis? What’s going on?
I can see Liam crying, but I don’t know why.

Is something wrong with my babies? Addie, what’s wrong?

“It’s okay.” She kisses my forehead. “I love you, Lila Rae.”

Liam! Liam! Liam!

“Lila, my beautiful, Lila.”

I'm no longer in the nursery at home. I'm lying in bed in a hospital room, Liam sitting next to me. “Liam, what happened?”

“You fainted and hit your head. We thought we were losing you. Your water broke and I think it scared you. You have a huge cut on your head. Don’t touch it.”

“Where did Addie go? She was just here!”

“I think you’re a little confused. Addie isn’t here, my love. Nikki is in the hallway.”

“I just saw her. She kissed me and told me she loved me. I know it wasn’t Nikki.”

“Honey, you know Ads was killed last year.”

“She was here. Why don’t you believe me?”

“I’m sorry, love, I do believe you.”

“Sir, we need to examine her,” a young nurse says.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Liam shouts. The doctor comes in to check on me.

“She and the babies are all fine,” the doctor says. “It looks like you'll be having your babies anytime now.”

***

After being in labor for almost seven hours, my darling angels have finally arrived. I look at my proud soon-to-be hubby and ask him what we should name our princesses. We haven’t really talked about girl names, just boys.

“She looks exactly like an Addison Michelle and she looks just like a Madison Nicole.”

“That’s perfect,” I say. Liam’s mother’s name was Michelle.

“Now we need to make you Mrs. Ellis,” Liam says.

Our babies are beautiful, just like their daddy. Watching Liam hold them makes me smile. He's a terrific dad already. I miss my dad so much; I wish he were here. He would have been a great grandfather. He loved children.

“What's going on in that pretty little head of yours?” Liam asks.

“Oh, I’m just thinking about how lucky we are. We made those beautiful little girls.”

“Yes, we did. We can start making more in six weeks.”

I laugh at him. “Can you actually wait six weeks?”

He throws his head back and chuckles. “Can
you
wait six weeks? You, my love, are the sex monster, remember? Rawr?”

“Damn you Liam, you remember that night?”

He laughs again. “I remember every night I spent with you. Who could forget a sexy thing like you growling?”

“You do have a point, I guess. Please never tell anyone else I can growl.”

“Your secret is safe with me. So, in about six weeks, can you growl at me again?”

I smile as I watch him hold our baby girls.

***

We've been home about three weeks and the twins are doing great. My mom and Aunt Nancy have been a huge help. When Liam and I go out to get a new car, they watch Madison and Addison. He has a sports car and I have a jeep. Neither of our cars are baby friendly. We end up getting a GMC Terrain.

Liam wants to move to his house, but I’m not ready to go there yet. I’m comfortable in the guesthouse.

Nikki flies in to help with wedding plans. I need some girl time. We go shopping and then take my girls to get their ears pierced. I was so nervous, I made Nikki hold them.

***

Six Months Later

Our wedding day is finally here. We're just having a small ceremony on the beach with family and friends. Liam and I have had so many great moments at the beach house, we decided we never want to leave it. We still have Liam’s house and we figure we'll eventually move there, but right now, we only go there on the weekends.

Nikki surprises me by bringing Brody. He hugs and congratulates me, then looks down at my bracelet.

“Lila, is that…?”

“Yes, it is. I’ll always love him.”

I want to wear the bracelet. I know I shouldn’t, but it makes me feel his presence. It also reminds me of Ads. I hear Evan is back with Alyssa. I feel really bad for breaking his heart, but I belong with Liam.

My uncle, Kes, is giving me away. As we walk down the aisle, I can see Liam smiling a big smile. He is truly the greatest man on earth.

How am I so lucky to get a second chance with him? I don’t know what I would ever do without his embrace.

Eric and Ashton are standing next to Liam. Ashton’s son, AJ, is so cute. He's standing with all the guys.

Nikki and Christabella are standing next to me, holding Addie and Maddie. They're now six months old. Heather, her fiancé, and Margie flew in for our special day. It’s going to be a beautiful ceremony.

As we walk across the beach, I see several yellow butterflies flying toward the sky. Yep, Ads is here. I smile and squeeze Kes’s arm when I see them.

Kes puts my hand in Liam’s.

“Liam, I’m giving you Lila’s hand. You promised her father a long time ago that you would always take care of our girl. Do you still hold that promise?”

“Yes, sir. Uncle Kes, I’ll spend the rest of my life making sure Lila is taken care of.”

We wrote our own vows. I can feel my hands shaking as I read mine. “Liam, I almost lost you once and I don’t know how I would’ve lived if I would’ve lost you forever. You are here now; you and our girls are my life. I live every day to see your smile. I promise I’ll make you the happiest man on earth.” I stop and inhale. “I want to wake up next to you every morning and lie next to you every night as I dream. I’ll love and honor you for as long as there is blood in my veins. I want to spend every moment of every day showing you how much you mean to me.”

“Lila, I have loved you since the moment I laid my eyes on you. The first day I met you, I said to myself I would marry you someday. That day is here. I have never loved anyone as much as I love you and our girls. The days I spent away from you were the hardest days of my life. I knew someday I would make it back to your arms. I’ll never leave your side again. I’ll love, honor, and cherish you with every beat of my heart.”

I wipe his tears; I love this man with everything that I am.

“Ladies and gentleman, I would like to be the first to say congratulations to Mr. & Mrs. Liam Anthony Ellis,” Kes says. “Liam, you can kiss your bride now.”

“About damn time!” Liam laughs.

Liam grabs me and kisses me the hardest he has ever kissed me.

“I love you, Mrs. Ellis.”

“I love you more, Mr. Ellis.”

The reception is in a small, beautiful building on the beach. Nikki, Margie, and Heather have done a fabulous job. I try to enjoy my day as much as possible without thinking of my daddy and Ads.

“I’m ready to get you out of here and out of that dress, Mrs. Ellis.”

“Is that so, Mr. Ellis? Wonder if we would be missed if we disappeared for a quickie?”

“I don’t think anyone would notice if we hurry.”

I laugh and Liam pushes me in the closet.

“I’ve been waiting all day to have some of my wife.”

Liam kisses me and pulls my panties off. I reach down and unzip his pants. We make love on a shelf in the damn closet.

“Oh, Lila, I’m so glad we think alike. I love making you happy, baby.”

“I love you and I love the way you feel inside of me, but we better hurry before we’re missed.”

He shoves my panties in his pocket and laughs when we walk back out.

***

We go to Italy for our honeymoon. We’ve never left the girls with anyone longer than a day or so. My mom and Aunt Nancy are going take turns with them. Christabella is helping as well.

Our honeymoon is perfect; the only thing missing is the girls. I love Italy. Liam promises we will go back when the girls are a little older.

We’ve been searching for Liam’s birth mother for years now. We finally have a lead. She's married and is using the name Sofia Barone-Pryor. She lives in Nevada.

“Liam, should we just go or should we call?”

“I’m not sure. I’m just so damn nervous.”

I decide to call and make sure it's her. “Is this Sofia? Ma’am, have you ever lived in San Diego? Yes, my name is Lila Carls-Ellis. Yes, ma’am, he’s my husband. Yes, that’s what we're trying to figure out. We’ve been looking for you for years now. Yes, we would love that. Okay, thank you so much.”

Looking at Liam, I say, “That was your mother, babe. She's going to call back and she said she'll fly here to talk us. She said it was a very complicated situation.”

I can see the tears in his eyes. I know seeing his birth mother is going to be emotional for him, he says, “That's wonderful. Thank you so much for your help. What if she doesn’t like me? She did give me up. But why? I have all these questions for her.”

“I know, my love. We will ask her everything when she gets here.”

***

Several weeks after the phone call, Liam’s mother and one of her daughters, Andrea, come for a visit. Sofia tells us that Liam’s father was really his biological father and that Liams mother couldn’t have children. Sofia was working as their maid at the time Liam was conceived. His parents had originally had another surrogate, but Sofia offered to carry Liam for them. After several failed attempts, they finally just used Sofia’s eggs with Mr Ellis’s semen.

We are all in tears from her story. I hug her and thank her for opening up to us. Liam welcomes her and Andrea with open arms. He has another sister, Arica, and a brother, Andrew. They all live in Nevada. They’re Italian, and Sofia says it’s a tradition in their family to stick with the same letter of the first name for each child. She chose the letter A because of Liam’s middle name.

I’m so happy for him. This is something that he's wanted for a long time now.

Later that night, we lie in bed, talking.

“Lila, thank you for making this possible. It’s great to have Sofia in our lives and it’s all because of you. I’m the luckiest man in the world. I have the most beautiful woman as my wife and best friend, and we have the best twin girls.”

We snuggle in each other’s arms the rest of the night.

***

Someone is banging on the door.

“It’s six in the morning. Who could it be?” I ask.

Liam runs to the door. It's Ashton and Nancy. They're both crying and out of breath. O
h no, who's dead now?

“We have some news about the bastard that killed Addie,” Ashton says. I grab Liam’s hand and tell them I’ll call Eric on speakerphone. Once I get Eric awake and on the phone, Ashton tells us what they know.

“The guy that killed Ads is only eighteen; he and his friends had been out drinking all night. He isn’t a known criminal and that’s what has taken them so long to find him. He was dared to rob the gas station. He told the police that when they scoped it out, there was no one but a cashier, but once he was inside and saw Eric and Addie, he got nervous and didn’t know what to do. He said Addison screamed and he shot, not realizing he shot her. That's when Eric tried to run after him. His friends were waiting in the parking lot a few blocks over.”

We are all crying. I can hear my brother’s sobs

“What happens now?” I ask.

“The police said they would contact us with the court dates.”

I hope the bastard rots in prison. I feel so bad for Eric. He used to be so strong. Now I feel like he's breaking all over again. He loved Addison more than anything. I pray that he can move forward. I know it will be hard on him, but he’s a Carls and we are made to stand strong—although I find myself wanting to break all the time.

This whole Liam and Evan situation has broken me down. I miss Ads and my dad so much.

My mom is doing a lot better. She's met another man named Jacob. I knew she needed to move on, but I wasn’t prepared when she did. We all went to dinner together last week. He's a very handsome fire marshal that knew my father. Jacob's son, Brax, graduated with Eric and me. He also has a teenage daughter, Makensie. Jacob is kind and supportive, exactly what she needs.

~Chapter

Twenty-Six~

Three Years Later

I graduated from the University of California earlier today with my law degree. After everything I've been through, I pushed through and made it happen. Now I’m working for one of the largest law firms in San Diego. We've finally moved into the big house.

Since my mom has remarried, I figured it was time to let her have her beach house back. I love living in the house Liam grew up in. It’s a huge house and perfect for our family. We’ve decided to have another baby. Liam is hoping for a boy this time.

“I’ll only be gone three days at the most. You’ll be fine. My mom, Christabella, and Kalyn will be here to help you,” I say to Liam as I pack my bags.

“I know I’ll be fine with the twins. It's you I’ll miss. We haven’t been apart since I came home four years ago.”

“Oh Liam, I’ll be back! I promised Heather I would be there for all the events.”

“Please be careful,” he pleads.

“I’ll call you as soon as I get there.”

I kiss my three-and-a-half year old twins.

“Mumma not leave,” Madison says.

“I’ll be back, my sweet girls.”

Addison hugs me and says, “Miss you, Mumma.”

They are so sweet. They don’t understand that I’ll only be gone a couple days. I hope they don’t throw a fit on their daddy.

Heather invited me to her wedding. As excited as I am, I’m nervous about being in New York again. I haven’t been there in four years. Brody is living in Ohio with Nikki; they got engaged last year. He opened up his own law firm there, and she is now a law professor at OSU.

***

On the plane, I wonder what it will be like to step back in that big ol’ city again. So many thoughts are running through my mind—thoughts about all the people I've met there and the ones I've loved and lost.

I need to get Evan out of my mind, but he's never left it. I can’t stop loving him; I've tried. I haven’t contacted him personally since my father’s funeral. I’ve looked him up online a couple times. He’s a wonderful lawyer.

I take a cab to the hotel and check in. It's just as beautiful now as it was years ago. Evan and I stayed here once. We were tired of our beds and just wanted a night away from the college scene. It was a magical night.

I call Heather and she says we aren’t meeting until tomorrow evening. I decide I’ll grab lunch and relax. I’m starving. I go to The Corner Café and grab lunch since the café is just around the corner from the hotel. I don’t think anyone will notice me. I've gained a little weight and I wear my hair a lot shorter than I did back then.

I enter the café and the aroma is wonderful. One thing I miss about living here is this place; they need one back home. Instead of sitting down and ordering, I go through the express line.

While standing in line, I smell a scent that I know I've smelled many times before. I can’t quite remember exactly where I know it from. It's strong and smells so familiar. It's a scent I have smelled more than once. When the barista says, “Next,” I catch a glimpse of someone out of the corner of my eye.

Oh my God, it’s him! He isn’t alone; he's with the one person I wished he wasn’t with. Trying not to let them see me, I order my BLT and sweet tea quietly. I try to get my debit card out of my wallet and drop my purse. It falls to the floor. Of course, they turn and see me. Damn it, just my fucking luck.

“Lila Carls? Is that you?”

I turn and face them. “Well hello, Alyssa…and Evan. How are the two of you?”

She looks the same, just a little uglier. Yep, she's still skankzilla. What the hell does he see in her?

“What brings you here?” Alyssa asks.

“I’m here for a friend’s wedding.”

Evan stares at me, not saying a word.

“So Lila Carls, did you become a lawyer?” Alyssa asks.

“Yes, I did and it’s actually Lila Carls-Ellis.”

Evan drops his head.

“Oh, you married that army guy after all?” She runs her hand over Evan’s and stares me up and down.

“Yes, I did marry Liam. Did y’all get married?” I ask.

Evan speaks up. “No, we're just friends.”

She looks at him like she wants to punch him in the throat. “I’ve been trying to hook this man for years, but he would rather stay single except for on those lonely nights when he wants some attention, if you know what I mean?”

This bitch really wants me to know she and Evan are screwing.

“Well, it was good seeing the two of you. Have a good day.” I almost run out the door. God, he's still as attractive as he was years ago. I want to talk to him more.

***

I go back to my hotel and wonder where Evan is now. I call Nikki; she says he still lives in the loft.

“What are you doing? You're married and you left him years ago.”

“I just want to talk to him, Nik.”

“Please be careful, and if you decide to cheat on your husband, be smart about it.”

“Nicole Paige! Why would you say that to me?”

“Just looking out for my best friend, Lila Rae. I love you; call me when you’re finished.”

“Thanks, Nik. Please don’t tell Brody.”

I finish eating and call Liam.

“Hello, my love, how are you and my mini me’s?”

“Hey, beautiful. We miss you already. We're on the beach and they have me looking for T-Cells.”

I laugh. They're trying to say seashells.

“They'll have you out there all night.”

“We’ve been out here for hours already; they love the beach as much as their momma does.”

“Okay, love, I’m going to get some sleep. I’ll call you later.”

“Sleep well, beautiful. We love you.”

“I love you three more. Kiss Ads and Mads for me.”

I don’t dare mention my old friend. I call a cab and head to Evan’s. The first thing I notice when I get there is that Evan has a newer car, if that's his. Before, he drove an older Camaro. Now he's driving a Range Rover.

I walk to the door. I feel my knees get shaky. I ring the doorbell. As soon as I start to turn and walk away, Evan opens the door.

“Well, hello stranger.”

“Hi, Evan. Are you alone?”

“Yes, I am.”

“May I come in?”

He holds the door open and steps to the side. The loft looks the same—well, maybe he has different electronics—but everything else is exactly the same. He even has the same couch that we used to make love on.

Being back in his loft brings back so many memories.

“How have you been? Where is the Camaro?”

He runs his hands through his hair. God, he's beautiful.

“I’m okay. The Camaro is back home because I don't drive it much anymore. How are you and Liam?”

“We’re good. I thought you and Alyssa were together?” I say, unable to hide the disgust in my voice. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to say it like that. Oh, I was hoping you didn’t get rid of that car. I always loved it.”

“You know how I feel about Alyssa. And I could never get rid of old lady; you know I love that car.”

“Oh, I just thought…maybe because of the way she said things…” I clear my throat and change the subject. “Are you a lawyer now?”

“Yes, I am actually. I’m thinking of moving back to Utah and opening a practice there.”

“That would be great. How is your father doing?”

“He’s doing pretty good, just taking things day by day. My aunt Frances still helps him out. What brings you here to New York?”

“I’m here for Heather’s wedding. You remember her, don’t you?”

“She used to date Lance, right?”

“Yes, that’s her. She’s marrying Dustin Nelson.”

“I haven’t seen either of them in years,” Evan says.

“Heather and I have stayed in contact. She and Margie flew in for my wedding so I thought it was only fair I come to hers.”

“How are your daughters? Brody told me about the wedding and how cute they are. He said they look just like you.”

“Would you like to see pictures of them?”

“Of course.”

I look for pictures that Liam isn’t in.

“This was just last week. Addie is the one in the pink and Maddie is in the yellow.”

“They do look just like you with that curly blonde hair.”

“I know, I feel sorry for them. I hate my hair.”

“I see you’ve changed it.” I can’t believe he noticed after all these years.

“It’s so much easier to take care of.”

“Why has it taken you this long to contact me?” he asks, staring a hole in my soul.

Ah, hell. Do I say when I saw you in the café, I wanted to kiss and fuck you right there on the damn table?

“I’m not sure. I’ll be honest with you, not a day goes by that I don’t think of you and the time we spent together. I love my husband with everything that I am, but I also still love you. And I wanted to see you. I'm here and I thought this would be the perfect time. I’ll go if you want me to. I know how hard it was for you to get over me.”

“Over you? I never got over you! I love you as much today as I did five fucking years ago! When I saw you at your father’s funeral, it took everything I had not to scoop you up in my arms and just take you away. Then when we went to the guesthouse and made love, it broke me. I couldn’t eat or sleep for days. My heart was broken in twenty fucking pieces. You
are
my everything, Lila. I've never loved and wanted anything as bad as I want you,” he says, his eyes filling up with tears.

“Oh, sweetie, I didn’t mean to…uh…I better go.”

He grabs my arm. When he touches me, I get chills all through my body. “You don’t have to go. We can catch up; my love for you will never change. I've tried dating other girls, but they just aren’t you. I even finally found Brynlea. She was back in Utah. Her parents did make her abort the baby, and then they sent her to West Virginia to her grandparents.”

I scoot closer and place my hand on his arm. I’m not sure if I should or not, especially since I’m still attracted to him. Oh God, am I ever still attracted to him. I can feel his pain and I just want to take it all away. With every word he speaks, I can feel myself biting my lips.

“I’m so sorry,” I say.

He places his hand on mine while we sit there and fill each other in on the last four years. He knows a lot about my life from Brody, of course, but they never tell me anything about him.

“What are you doing for dinner?” I ask.

“Whatever you want to do.”

I smile; that's my Evan. What am I thinking? I’m a married woman and I want to hang out with my old fling…wait, he was much more than a fling. I love him so much.

“I’m staying at that hotel by the café.”

He gives me a sad look. Oh God, I bet he remembers that hotel.

“What are you doing now?” he asks.

“I was hoping to hang out with you. I've missed you and it's great to be with you.”

He smiles and chokes back his tears. “You don’t even know how much this means to me. Would you like a beer?”

“Sure, that sounds good.”

What am I doing? I feel like a teenager who has a crush on an older guy that my parents have forbidden me to see. How I would love to be in his arms, in his bed.

“Here you go, darlin’.”

Evan hands me my beer. The way he looks me in my eyes sends goose bumps up and down my arms.

“You cold?” he asks.

“Oh no, I’ll be okay. How about we go to the café and walk around Central Park?”

“That sounds great.”

I have to get out of his place. I’m having thoughts a married woman shouldn’t have. We head to the café. I’m not hungry considering I've just eaten. Well, I’m hungry for Evan. God, I just want to taste him one more time. It’s been four years. I’ve been yearning for his touch.

“Sitting here with you feels great,” Evan says.

“It brings back so many memories. Do you remember that time we came here around two in the morning because I wanted a BLT only from here?”

“I was just thinking about that.”

I smile at him. I reach across the table and touch his hand.

“How are you really? Are things good with you and Liam? I know he went through a lot when he was gone.”

“Things are perfect with Liam and me. He never changed. What do you think about Nikki and Brody getting married?”

“I think it’s great. I was a little shocked, but I know how much he loves her.”

“She's absolutely in love with that man. I’ve never seen her this happy. Thanks for bringing me here. I’m really enjoying myself.”